Professional Development

Professional Development Units

McCoy College graduate students are required to successfully complete their academic degree plan with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 in order to graduate. But your graduate experience is not limited to the classroom; it is enhanced by honing soft skills, volunteering, and networking. For that reason, all McCoy College graduate students* are required to complete Professional Development Units (PDUs) in order to graduate. This is also referred to as a "co-curricular" requirement for graduation.

We have developed a professional development program designed to help you learn the soft skills that you need in order to land a job, get a promotion, and earn more money throughout your career. We bring in external speakers to talk about a variety of topics such as communication skills, teamwork, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and much more. The first opportunity for students to earn PDUs is by attending the McCoy College Graduate Bootcamp event prior to the start of their first semester. 

Keeping Track of PDU Credits

PDUs are tracked via the Texas State Canvas learning management system under the Professional Development course. Each PDU-eligible event will be advertised to McCoy College graduate students and an in-person sign-in sheet or virtual data logs will be gained to capture the names and email addresses of students in attendance. If a student attends an event but does not sign in, credit will not be awarded.

McCoy College graduate students are expected to honor their commitments. When you register for a professional development event, we expect you to be there. Professional development events often involve industry professionals who are generously donating their time and expertise to provide value for McCoy College graduate students. As such, students are expected to arrive prior to the start time. Students are expected to be professional, attentive, and participate. PDU credit may be denied at the discretion of the McCoy College graduate programs staff if a student is tardy or otherwise not participating in the session. Additional information can be found in the McCoy College student handbook.

While the McCoy College graduate programs staff track PDUs, it is the ultimate responsibility of the graduate student to ensure they meet the requirement of earning enough PDU credits prior to graduation. 

How to check and track your PDUs:

• Login to Canvas
• Choose the “Professional Development” course
• Navigate to “Grades”
• Look for the first figure in the total points you earned. This will indicate your current balance.
• NOTE: The second total figure could exceed beyond 12, due to previous data still being included in Canvas. For the most accurate total, disregard this second figure in the Total:   /   fraction shown.

All PDU credits earned will be updated in Canvas within 7 business days following each PDU event.

PDU Credit Requirements by Program

^{*MAcy, MSAIT and Online MBA students are not required to complete PDU credits, however all students are welcome to attend PDU events.}

It is important to know that while they work together and have a similar name, the McCoy College Graduate Programs Professional Development Unit Program “PDUs” and The Graduate College Shop Talks are separate and different programs for graduate students. Each host graduate student events but have different professional development programs criteria, are run by different TXST staff, and requirement policies for attendance and completion differ.